Trump releases statement on the anniversary of Parkland shooting – here’s how many times he mentioned the word ‘gun’

Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School spend time together at a memorial setup outside the school as they remember those lost during a mass shooting at the school on February 14, 2019 in Parkland, (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

President Trump’s lengthy statement reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Parkland school shooting contains only one direct reference to gun violence.

The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018 claimed the lives of 17 people and left another 17 injured. It also sparked a contentious debate about firearm safety and restrictions nationwide — primarily led by student survivors, who called for additional gun control during marches and online advocacy campaigns.

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“The day after the tragedy in Parkland, I told the Nation that school safety would be a top priority for my Administration,” Trump said Thursday.

“We took immediate action, committing ourselves to a sacred vow to do everything in our power to ensure that evil does not stalk our children on the playgrounds or in the hallways of our Nation’s schools.”

Despite discussing the deadliest shooting to ever occur at an American high school, the President’s statement carefully avoids the use of words like “guns” and “shooting” — opting instead for more vague phrases like “the tragedy in Parkland” and the “horrific act of violence.”

His first and only mention of gun violence doesn’t come until the final paragraph of his remarks: “Melania and I join all Americans in praying for the continued healing of those in the Parkland community and all communities affected by gun violence.”

The word “shooter,” meanwhile appears only once, in reference to the pursuit of uniform “active shooter protocols and drills”

The bulk of the President’s statement, nearly 600 words in length, outlines the “tremendous strides” his administration has made since the mass shooting, some of which include listening sessions with students and signing the STOP School Violence Act and Fix NICS Act a month after the shooting.

“The Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation also convened a School Safety Summit that discussed how to better identify troubled students, conduct threat assessments, and institute anonymous reporting systems,” Trump continued.

“Additionally, my Administration has completed a regulatory process, which it started in October of 2017, to ban bump stocks.”

Most efforts to curb gun violence, though, unfolded on the local level with 20 states passing “significant gun violence prevention bills this year,” according to data from Everytown For Gun Safety released in December.

In the weeks after the Parkland shooting, Republican governors in both Florida and Vermont signed sweeping gun violence packages over the gun lobby’s objection.” And after it was revealed the shooter in Parkland displayed warning signs, eight states passed “red flag” laws, which enable law enforcement to seek court orders to temporarily block someone from having a gun.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre anniversary

Trump concluded his statement with a call on Americans to continue their efforts to ensure school safety across the country.

“Today, as we hold in our hearts each of those lost a year ago in Parkland,” he said, “let us declare together, as Americans, that we will not rest until our schools are secure and our communities are safe.”